Whispering Presence
by YuriChan220
Summary: One girl is quiet and shy. The other is treated like she's invisible. When those two meet, their lives are going to change forever. AU
1. Prologue

**Whispering Presence**

 **Pairing: Akari x Rise**

 **Genre: Drama/Romance**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Yuru Yuri or any of its characters.**

 **Summary: One girl is quiet and shy. The other is treated like she's invisible. When those two meet, their lives are going to change forever. AU**

 **Author's Note: Hello, everyone! My name is Yuri! I haven't wrote a Akari x Rise story in a while, so here's another one of mine, this time a multi-chapter one. I decided to write this one based on my personal life and how I met a friend who has the same problem as me. So, I hope you all enjoy.**

Rise Matsumoto sits on her desk with her head resting on her hand, thinking, "How long has it been since I tried to make one friend?" Her immediate answer: None. All because she can't speak above a whisper and too quiet and shy. Most people take that as a silent person that doesn't like talking with people, but to Rise, that's not true. She wants to make friends and be able to hang out with them. However, even when she tries to talk with them, her voice goes very soft, almost whisper-like and no one will ever pay attention. For years, Rise had tried and tried to interact with people, hang out with them and even join them to play. But the quiet girl gets the same result: rejection. People may think Rise has problems with her throat because she talks too softly, but in reality, her voice is just fine. Her parents say that it's her way of talking with others since she's so shy, but people always take it the wrong way.

Now that Rise is in Nanamori Middle School, things have gotten worse. No one still wanted to be Rise's friend because she talks too softly and just made friends of their own. Rise had never felt this lonely ever since that day when the kids rejected her and pushed her around long ago. The only person she ever talks to is her guidance councilor, Nana Nishigaki. For some reason, Nana could literally understand Rise's soft whispers and is able to help her the best she could. But none of those advices work since she's still being treated the same way. She wishes that someday . . . someday that one kind person would be able to talk with her and even play with her.

* * *

"Hey, guys!" a girl with short red-hair says while running towards some of her friends, Yui and Kyouko. "Let's go hang out together!"

"Aw, you're so cute!" Kyouko says, not directly at the red haired girl, but to someone else. "Chinatsu-chan~!" She hugs a small, pink-haired girl with twin tails tightly.

"C-could you get off me, please!" the pink haired girl, Chinatsu says. "You're suffocating me!"

"Kyouko, can you get off her?" Yui says while crossing her arms.

"Why not? She's super cute~!" Kyouko insists as she rubs her cheek against Chinatsu's.

"H-hold it!" Yui tries to protest.

"Uh, guys?" the red haired girl, known as Akari Akaza, waves her arms around to get their attention. "I'm right here, next to you! Can you even hear me?"

"Hey, I got a great idea!" Kyouko says as she pulls away from Chinatsu. "Let's take this new student out and show her the ropes. She must be really nervous around this place."

"Hmm . . . not a bad idea," Yui says while rubbing her chin. She holds out her hand. "What do you say, Yoshikawa-san? Do you want to come along? I promise to always stay close to you."

Chinatsu's eyes sparkle in delight when she heard Yui say that. "I'd love to, Yui-sempai!" She jumps into the short dark-haired girl's arms and hugs her, making Kyouko's face turn red from jealousy.

"Aw, why does she choose to come with you!?" she whines. "I'm the one who found her!"

"Yes, but all you ever do is hover all over her," Yui says with annoyance in her voice. "Come on, Yoshikawa-san."

"Oh, um, y-you can call me Chinatsu," the pink haired girl says softly while blushing.

Yui smiles. "Okay, Chinatsu. Let's go."

Akari lowers her hands as a sad look comes across her face. "O-okay. You guys go have fun. . ." She turns and walks away while the other three go in the opposite direction, happily taking their small friend along.

Yui and Kyouko didn't always treat Akari this way, but until now, when the blonde noticed the transfer student, Chinatsu enter the school, she immediately got her attention to the small girl and shortly after, Yui did the same. And it's not just Yui and Kyouko, but the rest of the students here at Nanamori Middle School. No one even bothered to pay attention to her, even when she tried to talk with them about homework and stuff. They all just treat her like she's not even there and mind their own business. School wasn't the only thing that makes Akari feel very lonely.

At her home, her own parents don't talk to Akari that much and only direct their attention to her older sister, Akane, who is very beautiful and popular unlike her. She may be in college, but Akane still holds her popularity throughout the school and outside of school. Most men would admire her beauty and swoon over her. However, despite the fact that Akari's parents only talk to her, Akane is also kind-hearted and gentle. She is the only one Akari ever talks to and even comforts her whenever Akari is having a bad day. The two sisters get along very well and even play together sometimes when Akane wasn't busy with college work. But Akari still feels lonely, even if her own sister is the only one she talks to the most.

While walking in the halls, Akari looks out the window and puts her hand on it while a tear rolls down her eye.

"I wish that someone . . . someone out there would treat me like I'm invisible no more. I want to make one true friend . . . a friend that won't run away. Oh, if there's anyone out there . . . I want to be friends with you," Akari says to herself while hanging down her head.

After a few minutes of standing there, she drags herself thought the exit doors and slowly walks her way home.


	2. One Fateful Meeting

**Chapter 2**

 **One Fateful Meeting**

The next day, Rise leaves her house, saying her quiet good-byes to her parents, who are just too busy talking with each other. After closing the door, the dark-haired girl walks to the train station to travel to the middle school. Just another day of loneliness. When will it ever end? She still wishes to make friends, but now it's impossible for her considering how quiet and shy she is. She even wonders if she'll ever make a friend with this personality.

Right before the train leaves, Rise is about to get on when a girl with short red hair sprints to the station and stops to catch her breath. She randomly turns to Rise and asks, "Am I late yet?"

Rise shakes her head and whispers.

"Oh, good! Thank you!"

Rise whispers a "No problem" wondering how in the world could this girl understand her. The two walk in the train together and sit on one of the seats as the train leaves the station. Both are silent throughout the whole ride, except Rise stealing some glances at the red haired girl. She is still wondering why this girl is able to understand her through her whispers, just like Nana.

By the time the train arrives at the next station, both of the girls exit the train and head toward the school. The warning bell rings, causing the red-haired girl to panic.

"Oh, no! I'm going to be so late!" she starts to sprint down the path to the entrance without even realizing that one of her notebooks fell out of her bag.

Rise was going to tell the girl this, but because of her talking in quiet whispers, she knows that it's impossible to reach her in time. She slowly walks over and picks up the notebook and reads the name **"Akari Akaza"** in the front cover. She will have to remember to return it to her later.

* * *

Throughout the morning, Rise saw no signs of Akari anywhere between the next 3 periods. Then again, she doesn't even know Akari's schedule, so it's a little impossible to track her down that way. Maybe she'll find her during lunch time. If she doesn't find her there, all she could do is look for her after school. She really needed to return that notebook to Akari because it's very important for her, and Rise knows that.

By the time lunch came around, Rise is still unable to find Akari anywhere, where it would be in the cafeteria or outside where the other girls are. So, she just sat and ate by herself while staring at the notebook. Various scenarios form in her head on how Akari reacted when she lost her notebook and realized that someone must have taken it. Rise is not going to give up that easily, for she knows that she must return it after school immediately or if she's lucky, between afternoon classes.

* * *

Finally, when the time came, Rise rushes out of the classroom and looks around for the girl she's been searching for all day. Nothing. While every girl is exiting the school and getting emptier and emptier, Rise looks at the notebook and clutches it tightly. She's still not going to give in just because she's failed to find the student that lost something very important, so she rushes down the halls and continues her search. However, her search is short lived when . . .

BAM!

She accidentally hits someone when she's not looking and both of them topple over to the floor. Both slowly recover while rubbing their heads in pain as they look up and their eyes widen in shock.

"H-hey!" Akari says while pointing her finger at her. "You're that girl from this morning!"

Rise nods as she whispers and stands up. She holds out her hand, offering to help Akari get up, in which the red-haired girl accepts.

"Thank you," she says. "Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?"

Rise shakes her head and whispers.

"You have something to give me, you say?" Akari asks.

The quiet girl nods again as she holds out the notebook. Akari's eyes widen in happiness as she takes it and gives her a hug.

"Oh, thank you! Thank you!" she says, happily. "I was looking for that all day! I would have never had it back if I didn't find you!"

Rise lets out a small smile from her face as she returns it. Both of them pull away after about a minute.

"Oh, um, would you like to, um . . . walk together to the train station?" Akari asks while fiddling with the hem of her skirt.

Rise whispers, wanting to know she's not hearing things.

"Well, sure! I mean . . . we're the only ones here now and we have to catch the train before it leaves in a few minutes, right?"

Rise nods as she grabs her bag and whispers.

"Yes! Oh, by the way, my name is Akari Akaza! What's yours?"

Rise whispers her name.

"Rise Matsumoto. What a nice name! Well, nice to meet you, Rise-chan!" Akari holds out her hand, in which Rise gently grips it and shakes it. She had never been called "Rise-chan" other than her family. Still, that's very nice of her to call her that.

With that, the two exit the school together with smiles on their faces. For Rise, she had never walked with anyone before in her life. And now she is with her new friend, Akari, which makes her very happy.

Once the two get on the train, they sit next to each othwr in the same seats as they did this morning and stay silent for about a few more minutes before the train leaves.

Akari fiddles with the hem of her skirt before turning to Rise. "S-so, um, Rise-chan . . . how have you been? I've never seen you before."

Rise whispers her situation.

"Oh, I see," Akari says while nodding. "You've been having a problem with interacting with other people because you're very quiet and shy. And no one ever pays attention to you because of that."

Rise nods and whispers.

"Well . . . to tell you the truth, I'm having the same problem. Most people treat me like I don't really exist, even though I try very hard to interact with other people. Even my own parents treat me the same way. The only person I ever talk to is my older sister, Akane. This has been going on for years."

Rise nods as she had listened to the whole story. She had no idea that Akari has something in common with her: lack of presence, only Rise's problem is far worse than hers.

"But now I get to talk with you for the first time!" Akari says with a smile. "And it felt really good to finally tslk to someone that doesn't treat me the same way as other people!" Akari hugs the dark haired girl for a second before pulling away.

Rise whispers a question.

"Hm? How did I understand your quiet whispers?" Akari says. "That's . . . a very food question. To be honest, I'm not even sure myself. Somehow, when you were talking to me, I can really hear your voice. I know my hearing's not that great, but it just . . . happened."

Rise looks down at the floor, wondering if this is all true or if Akari is just pulling her leg. No one other than Nana could understand Rise, so how can someone like Akari also understand her? Thy stay silent for the rest of the ride until they reach their stop. Both of them exit rhe train and stop for a bit.

"Um, it was nice talking with you, Rise-chan," Akari says. "I'll . . . see you tomorrow."

Rise waves as the red-head turns and dashes off. As a light breeze blows past the dark haired girl, making her black tresses sway, a small smile comes across her face. She feels that she can really get along with Akari since she's the next person to understand Rise very well. And she had never talked with anyone more than a minute with someone othr than Nana either. For her, Rise's life is going to change for sure. She finally made a new friend . . . and she's happy for that.

* * *

 **A/N: I know these are shoet chapters, but I promise it will get better soon. Oh, and this will mostly focus on Rise since she's my favorite character. So feel free to give out any suggestions, questions or concerns and don't forget to review. ;)**


	3. New Beginnings, New Friendships

**Chapter 3**

 **New Beginnings, New Friendships**

The next morning, Rise arrives at the station again and waits. After her first meeting with Akari, she felt really happy that not only she made her very first friend, but that Akari has the same problem as her: lacking presence. Sighing happily, she looks over at the clock, seeing that the train has about 10 minutes before departure. She is hoping that she will meet Akari again and ride together while sitting next to each other, just like yesterday.

"Rise-chan!" a familiar voice calls.

Speak of the devil, the red-head rushes over next to the dark haired girl and stops to catch her breath.

"Good morning!" she greets.

Rise whispers her greeting back.

"Am I on time again?" Akari asks.

Rise turns on her smartphone and shows the time to her new friend. The red-haired girl sighs in relief.

"Oh, good!" she says. "I was sort of slow getting ready this morning, but I'm glad I made it." She walks over next to her. "So, do you want to sit next to each other again?"

Rise nods happily as the train arrives. The two enter it together and sit next to each other as other people enter. After about a few minutes, the train begins its departure. During the ride, Rise looks over at Akari who is sitting quietly while turning over to her dark haired friend.

"Is something the matter?" she asks.

Rise shakes her head as she whispers and smiles.

"Oh, I'm glad I could ride with you, too," Akari says with a giggle. She puts an arm around the raven-haired girl, which catches Rise by surprise.

She never had anyone do this before in her life. Surprising yes, but for her, it's a good feeling, even a small smile appears on her face. Akari smiles back as they enjoy the rest of the ride together until the train stops at their destination. The two exit the train and walk together along the path to the middle school when Akari takes notice of Yui, Kyouko and Chinatsu walking together with Chinatsu holding Yui's hand. Akari wanted to introduce her new friend to the others, but thought about what might happen if she does try to get their attention. Maybe they'll just ignore her like the other day.

Then, she feels a tug on her sleeve as she turns to see the raven-haired girl looking at her in concern while whispering.

"Oh, I wanted to introduce you to my friends," Akari replies. "But . . . I'm not sure how they'll react or if they'll even see us."

Rise looks down at the ground as she nods. Akari is right. Both of them lack presence, so it's impossible for them to introduce each other to other people, however, there is one person.

"Hm? You want to introduce me to your guidance counselor?" Akari asks as Rise nods as a reply. "Okay! Where is she?"

Rise leads the red-haired girl to the school and into the guidance department. From there, after turning left, Rise knocks on the door with a sign that says, "Nishigaki".

"Come in," a voice says from behind the door.

Rise opens it and beckons her new friend to follow her inside. Akari sees a young woman with shoulder length platinum-blonde hair with a side bang covering her right eye. She sits up and sees the two girls enter and smile.

"Well, hello there," she says. "Who do we have here, Matsumoto?"

Rise gestures her hand towards the red-haired girl and whispers.

"It's nice to meet you, Nishigaki-sensei," Akari says with a bow.

"Nice meeting you, too, Akaza-san," the young woman says. "I'm Nana Nishigaki, the guidance councilor. I talk with Matsumoto most of the time."

"You do?" Akari asks.

"Certainly," Nana replies. "Whenever Matsumoto has problems or needs some advice, she goes straight into my office. Though, most of her problems were trying to make friends."

"I see. Well, to tell you the truth, I've been having the same problem," Akari explains.  
"Oh? How so?" Nana asks.

The red-haired girl takes a deep breath and exhales slowly and tells Nana the story of how she's treated like she's invisible and now her current friends are ignoring her because of one transfer student. This whole time, Nana had listened to Akari's sad story and nods.

"I am so sorry to hear that, Akaza-san," Nana says. "Well, I'm very glad you made friends with Matsumoto. She really needed one since she first talked to me."

"Thanks," Akari says. "I'll makes sure to get along and take care of her, Nishigaki-sensei."

Rise turns to the red-haired girl as she smiles. She is glad to hear that from Akari.

"That's good to hear," Nana says as she stands up to get the door. "Well, you two better head to class because it's about to start in a few minutes."

"Right!" Akari dashes out the door as soon as Nana opens it.

However, the platinum blonde stops Rise for a second and pulls her aside as she gives the quiet girl a smile.

"I'm glad you made a friend, Matsumoto," Nana whispers. "I never expected this to happen, but you did it. I'm very proud of you."

Rise gives the guidance councilor a small smile as she nods. She is glad she made friends with Akari, too, and would never forget their first meeting ever. With that, Rise leaves the office and starts walking towards her homeroom. She wonders if Akari has the same lunch period as her because she'll also love to talk and eat with her if that ever happened. However, her thoughts are interrupted when she accidentally bumps into someone in front of her and falls on her butt in the process.

"Huh?" a girl with violet hair tied into a long pony-tail says as she turns around to see what hit her. "Oh, my! Are you okay?"

Rise looks up at the girl and nods as she stands up and brushes off some dust from her uniform. The girl in purple hair, along with another with short silver hair and glasses, come over to see if the Rise is alright.

"You should watch where you're going, miss," the purple haired girl says, gently.

Rise nods in understanding.

"Hehe! She's such a cute girl!" the silver haired girl says, her voice containing a Kansai accent.

The violet haired girl smiles as she nods. "Yes, she is." She turns to Rise. "Are you lost?"

Rise shakes her head.

"Well, okay. Be careful," the violet haired girl says. "Come on, Chitose. We're going to be late as well."

The silver haired girl, Chitose, nods. "Okay, Ayano-chan." She turns to Rise. "We'll see you later, miss!"

Rise waves the two girls farewell as they walk to their homeroom. The raven-haired girl is surprised that the violet haired girl, knowns as Ayano, seems like a very nice person, so does that silver haired girl, Chitose. She hopes to see them again.

* * *

Lunch time finally arrives after 3 periods and Rise has just entered the cafeteria. Looking around her, there were a bunch of people sitting and eating with their friends. Usually, she eats by herself, but all she could think about is Akari. Maybe she doesn't have the same lunch period as she does. Sure it's not all that bad, but to her, she's starting to feel lonely again. For a quiet girl like her, all she wanted was to enjoy her lunch time, not sit by herself and be bored the whole period. After looking around some more, she sees that there's one empty table with most people walking by it. Why is that? The other tables were already filled up, so why is this table empty? Shrugging, she starts to walk towards the table when she hears some yelling and screaming coming from her right. She sees two girls chasing each other, one with medium length blonde hair and the other with blue hair tied in twin braids. The blonde girl didn't look where she's going while running with something in her hand when she bumps into Rise, making both of them topple over.

"Owwwww!" the blonde girl groans as she gets up. "Where is that cookie?"

Rise notices the bag lying on the ground and picks it up. The blonde girl immediately jumps up and puts out her hand.

"Hurry! She's trying to take my cookie!" the blonde girl begs. "Quick! Give it to me before she attacks me with her breasts again!"

"Huh!?" the blue haired girl gasps as she stomps over towards the blonde girl. "I'll have you know that I was the one who has that cookie and you took it from me! Give it back now!"

"Try me!" the blonde girl teases. "Or is your breasts way too big for you to run?"

"Stop that!" the blue haired girl shouts.

Rise tilts her head in confusion as she eyes the cookie. She really didn't care who's it was, but to be fair, she takes it out, split it in half and gives it to the girls.

"Y-you're giving half to the both of us?" the blonde girl asks.

"Th-that's very kind of you, but you didn't have to do that," the blue haired girl says.

Rise just gives the two a gentle smile before waving to them. Both of the girls stare at Rise as she heads for the empty table.

"Wow," the blue haired girl says. "I never expected this girl to be . . . this kind to us," the blue haired girl says.

"Yes, unlike you, Himawari," the blonde girl teases.

"You should be really grateful that girl split this cookie for us," the blue haired girl says.

"Hehe! Okay, whatever you say," the blonde girl turns and walks off. "Come on, Himawari. Let's eat."

As the two walk away, Rise stares at the girls with a smile on her face. It's good that she could fix the problem, but she still feels lonely inside. She's going to have to eat alone like she usually does and just observe the other girls having a good time. Sighing she starts to head for the empty table when all of a sudden . . .

"Rise-chan!"

The raven-haired girl swiftly turns her head to notice the red-haired girl waving as she approaches her. A bright smile appears on Rise's face as she whispers a "Hello".

"Hi, there!" Akari says. "I was looking for you! Sorry, I'm a bit late. It's so crowded in here!"

Rise nods as she gestures her hand to the table and whispers.

"Of course, Rise-chan~! I'd love to sit with you!" Akari says, happily.

That response makes Rise's heart soar. Not only she's happy that Akari showed up, but is glad that she won't be lonely anymore during lunch. Akari proceeds to sit next to the raven-haired girl and the two eat lunch while enjoying each other's company. For Rise, she couldn't be any happier. She made a new friend and is eating lunch with that friend, who is somewhat similar to her. For the whole lunch period, the two ate and chatted together. When lunch is over, the two stand up while picking up their bags.

"I had so much fun eating with you, Rise-chan!" Akari says happily. "We should do this again tomorrow!"

Rise whispers.

"Oh, I forgot. Tomorrow's Saturday," Akari says while rubbing the back of her head. "Sorry! Ahahaha!"

Rise giggles as she whispers.

"Well, I'll see you after school, Rise-chan," Akari says as she takes her leave.

Rise waves at Akari as she whispers.

"See you later!"

With that, Akari is gone in a flash. Lowering her hand, a small smile creeps on her face. Yup, like earlier, she cannot be _any_ happier.

* * *

When the final bell rings for dismissal, Rise walks out of the classroom to find Akari right away next door. Surprised, she walks up to the red-head and whispers.

"Oh, yes!" Akari says. "I had no idea that your homeroom was close to mine either. I guess it's because it's so crowded that we barely saw each other, plus we had other classes to go to."

Rise nods and whispers.

"Alright," Akari says. "Let's get to the station before it leaves."

Both of them exit the school and start walking along the path until Akari notices 3 familiar girls ahead of them: Yui, Kyouko and Chinatsu.

"Oh! Hey, you guys!" Akari calls. "Hey, I made a new fri-"

"Aw~! You're just so cute, Chinatsu-chan~!" Kyouko coos as she hugs the small freshman.

"Hey, will you stop that?" Yui says. "You've been doing that too many times."

"I can't help it!" the blonde says. "Chinatsu-chan is just too cute~!"

Chinatsu clings onto Yui really closely. "Help me Yui-sempai! Kyouko-sempai is going to eat me up if she keeps this up!"

"Oh, don't worry!" Kyouko assures the freshman. "Hey, let's go to my place so she can check out my latest comics."

"I'd rather go to Yui-sempai's place," Chinatsu objects as she squeezes her arms tighter around the short dark-haired girl.

"Uh, you guys?" Akari says. "Are you even listening? I want you to meet my new friend."

Rise looks at the red-haired girl with worry. She realizes about what Akari had said earlier about her friends treating her like she's invisible and now she's seeing it with her own eyes.

"I think that's a good idea," Yui says. "Why don't you come along, Chinatsu?"

"Hey!" Kyouko whines. "Why do you always have to choose Chinatsu-chan's side!?"

"Because you can sometimes be a handful," Yui replies. "Let's go."

"Fine," Kyouko sighs as she drags herself along with the others.

Tears are starting to fall from Akari's eyes as she sees the two leave without ever hearing or seeing her.

"O-okay," she chokes a sob. "I-I guess I'll see you l-later."

Rise comes over and tugs on her shirt. Akari looks over as she wipes her tears.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Akari sniffles. "I failed again. It seems like Yui-chan and Kyouko-chan want to hang out with Chinatsu-chan from now on."

Rise nods as she wraps her arms around the red-head and buries her head in her chest. Soft sniffling can be heard from the raven-haired girl.

"Wh-why are you crying, Rise-chan?" Akari asks. "I sh-should be the one wh-who should be down."

Rise whispers as she looks up at the red-haired girl.

"You're right," Akari says. "Why can't people understand us? We're just really lonely that need friends, but they don't see that. They all look at us in a different way: like we don't exist in the world." More tears fall from Akari's eyes. "It's just . . . so unfair! So unfair!"

Rise nods as she hugs Akari a bit tighter as her own tears fall freely from her eyes.

"It's okay, Rise-chan," Akari sobs. "Y-you don't have to be alone anymore, neither will I. S-so don't . . . don't cry alone anymore! I'm here to cry along with you!"

Rise gasps as she hears that from her dear friend.

"Let it out, Rise-chan," Akari whispers. "It's not really good to keep it inside you. The same goes for me."

And that's just what Rise does. As more and more tears fall out, Rise let's out quiet sobs for the first time in her life. She had been keeping it inside her for so long that she's finally letting out everything that she's been holding back. Akari let's out her sobs, too as she hugs the raven-haired girl tightly. Both of them cry their hearts out for a good 15 minutes until none of them could cry anymore.

Both of them sit on a bench for a moment near the station after they are done crying, but their eyes remain red from doing that.

"Are you feeling better, Rise-chan?" Akari asks.

Rise nods as she whispers.

"Yes, I'm feeling a bit better. It felt good though."

Rise nods again as she leans in close to her red-haired friend. It did feel good to let it out, especially with Akari right by her side. It had made her feel better to cry along with her. Akari puts an arm around the raven-haired girl and smiles.

"Rise-chan," she says, softly. "Promise me that we'll be friends forever, okay?"

Rise gasps at Akari's statement. The red-haired girl offers her pinky and winks.

"Promise?" she asks.

Rise stares at the pinky for a bit while a smile appears on her face. She wraps her own pinky with Akari's and both of them gently shake.

"It's a promise then," Akari says.

With that in mind, both of them stand up and enter the train together.

* * *

 **A/N: Whew! That's a long one and early on the drama as well. Sorry about that. But that's all I could think of at this point. And how do you like the cameos with the rest of the "Yuru Yuri" cast? Don't worry. They are all nice people. I'm not planning on making one of them mean or anything. I just don't see that in them.**

 **Anyway, feel free to give out any suggestions, questions or concerns and don't forget to review. ;)**


	4. Hanging Out Together

**Chapter 4**

 **Hanging Out Together**

 **A/N: Hey, everyone! Sorry for the late update. To be honest, there were other yuri-like anime that I was interested in, including the ones that are currently airing, so I started to watch those. So, I wasn't entirely inspired to write the next chapter. However, I'm clearly surprised of how much reviews, favorites and follows I had for the past few months, which was awesome to see. :) So, here's the next chapter everyone~!**

One late morning, Rise sits on her bed alone, reading a book when she hears her phone ring from her night stand. She stands up and picks it up to look at the caller ID. Akari, she thinks to herself while staring at the familiar number on the screen. Akari had given her number just yesterday after school while walking home. They promised to stay friends after all, so they exchanged numbers before leaving school. Rise is so happy that she had a friend's phone number for the first time in her life on her contacts list other than her parent's. She can call Akari whenever she wants to and vice versa. She presses the green button on the touch screen.

"Hello?" she whispers.

"Hey, Rise-chan!" Akari says on the other line. "I was wondering if you're free today. Because I want us to hang out together to go to the park and . . . um . . . well, walk around town together."

Rise's eyes widen at the words "hang out". She had never been asked that by anyone either. She excitedly nods while whispering a "yes".

"Oh, that's great! How about we meet at the park around 2:00?"

Rise nods again while whispering.

"Okay! I'll see you there! My sister is going to drop me off, by the way!"

Rise whispers an "Okay" and then says good-bye to her and hangs up. Tossing the phone aside, she glances at her clock on her nightstand, which reads "10:00". Only 4 hours left. She plops down on her back on the bed, facing the ceiling while sighing softly. I'm going to spend time with . . . Akari, she thinks to herself. She couldn't wait any longer as she smiles while putting her hands on her cheeks. However, upon touching them, she can feel warmth on her hands. Was she . . . blushing just now? No, it couldn't be. Maybe it's just hot in the room and she hasn't adjusted the thermostat in a while. She stands up and turns the temperature down a little and walks back to her room while picking up a book to read.

**Later That Afternoon**

The hour has finally arrived and Rise is sitting on a bench, waiting for her first friend to arrive. She fiddles with the hem of her skirt while a light breeze blows past her, making her dark hair sway. It's the first time she and Akari are hanging out together and she is already feeling nervous. Now that she thinks about it, it can be a bit strange to hang out with a friend when she herself can only talk in a quiet, whisper-like voice. And Akari, on the other hand, is treated like she's invisible. It's only just the two of them hanging out. No problem. But . . . why does it feel that this won't work out for them?

"Rise-chan~!" a happy, cute voice calls her name.

The raven-haired girl lifts her head up to see Akari waving at her. She is wearing a blue sweat shirt with a brown skirt and white knee-high socks. Rise, on the other hand, is wearing a purple striped long sleeved shirt with a red short skirt and black-knee high socks.

"Oh, that's a nice outfit!" Akari compliments. "Did you pick it out yourself?"

RIse nods and whispers back a compliment in return.

"Oh, thank you~!" Akari says. "To be honest, it was hard to pick out what to wear when you're hanging out with someone for the first time."

Rise nods in agreement.

"Well then, shall we go for a walk?" Akari asks. "It's a really nice day out anyways, even though it's chilly."

Rise whispers a "Sure", then stands up. Out of the blue, Akari takes Rise's hand, which makes the raven-haired girl blush. She turns toward the red-head with ruby eyes widened as she whispers her concern.

"Oh, I just felt like doing this!" Akari says happily. "After all, we are friends. So, it's nice to do things once in a while."

Rise nods a little while glancing at the ground. A small, cute smile comes across her face. Akari holding her hand makes her feel more relaxed and is very happy about that. The two friends walk along the park, observing some adults talking, kids running around playing with their pets and on the playground. They even stop to watch an elderly woman feed the birds and decide to help her out a little. While feeding the birds, Rise looks over at Akari, who is enjoying herself. Akari turns to the raven-haired girl and smiles while giggling.

"Are you having fun, Rise-chan?" she asks.

Rise nods and whispers.

"Mm. Feeding the birds is a lot of fun," Akari says as she tosses a bit more crumbs on the ground and 2 more birds fly down to take some.

Rise tosses a bit of crumbs as well while her eyes are glued to the ground. When was the last time that she had this much fun? Probably never since she lacks presence and she made no opportunity to make any friends. When they run out of crumbs to feed the birds, they wave good-bye to the elderly woman and the two continue their lovely walk until they enter the streets around town. Cars and other people pass by them. Rise looks around nervously at the huge crowd around her. She had never been in such crowds in a while, not since she was little. However, she feels a gentle squeeze on her hand, making the raven-haired girl swiftly turn towards the red-head, who is smiling at her reassuringly. Rise then smiles back and nods, knowing that she'll be okay as long as Akari is around.

The two cross the street as the light changes to "WALK" and look around for a bit. Rise's eyes wander aimlessly around the stores and restaurants. She rarely goes around town like this, so she's happy to experience such an amazing atmosphere with her friend by her side. Just then, Rise points to a small stand across the street and whispers.

"Oh, would you like a crepe?" Akari asks.

The raven haired girl nods. Akari smiles as she holds up her wallet that she snatched out from her bag. "Great! Then, I'll get one, too!"

With that, the two walk over to the stand, order two crepes and head toward a nearby bench to enjoy their little snack. While Akari is happily eating hers, Rise just stares at the crepe a little. Another thought comes to the quiet girl's mind. She actually never been out buying crepes with a friend either. It makes her really sad that she's left out in the dust, just sitting around at home, helping out her family and being by herself in her room all day. Akari turns over to her quiet friend and her smile fades when she sees a sad expression on the raven-haired girl's face.

"H-hey," Akari says. "Are you okay? You don't like the crepe I gave you?"

Rise shakes her head.

"You seem a little down," Akari says while scooting closer to her. "Can you tell me what's wrong?"

Rise lifts her head up to see Akari's concerned face and whispers.

"Oh . . ." Akari says softly. "I can understand why. No one really cares anyway, though since both of us lack presence."

Rise whispers while trying to smile at her as best she could.

"I'm glad, too," the red-head says as she strokes her hair. "Hey, cheer up. This is your first time hanging out with me, so let's enjoy it while we can."

Rise stares at her friend for a bit before nodding and fully smiling. There's no time to be moping around during their wonderful time together. After about a few minutes, both of them finish their crepe, stand up and continue to walk through town.

 ****Yui's House****

Meanwhile, at Yui's house, Chinatsu, Kyouko and Yui were playing some video games when they become bored and just lie around on the floor, staring at the ceiling.

"What a day!" Kyouko blurts out loud. "I can't believe Yui beat me 4 times already!"

Yui looks at the energetic blonde in annoyance. "Maybe you should work harder on leveling up your character."

"Well, at least we had fun, right?" Chinatsu says while sitting up. "What should we do now?"

Yui stands up. "I'll go make us some tea."

"Oh! I'll help, Yui-sempai!" Chinatsu quickly jumps on her feet and follows the short haired girl to the kitchen to help make the tea.

Kyouko looks around the room, already feeling bored. She looks over at a shelf, full of manga that Yui just bought from the library a few days ago. The blonde wanted to know if there's any Mikakurun books she bought as well since Kyouko comes over more often. She happily goes over to the shelf to pick one out, however, she accidentally bumps her head from being too quick on her feet, making the shelf shake a little. And then . . .

BONK!

"Ow!" Kyouko cries and rubs her head in pain. "That hurt!" She looks down at the item that dropped and realizes that a frame had fallen on her. "Oh, it's just a picture frame. Ahahaha~! No matter! I'll just put it back up, so that no one will even notice!" She starts to pick the frame up when her eyes catch what's on the frame. It's a picture of her, Yui, and a certain red-head behind Kyouko. She squints her eyes a little at the red-head until suddenly . . . it hits her.

"Sorry, to keep you waiting." Yui says while holding the tray of tea. She goes over to put the tray down when she notices Kyouko staring at the picture frame. Her body is shaking for some reason and her expression isn't cheerful like she usually is. Yui slowly comes over to her childhood friend and puts a hand on her shoulder.

"Kyouko," she says. "Is everything alright? Is it the picture?"

"Yui . . ." Kyouko whispers. She can feel a lump on her throat as she speaks, trying to hold back any tears that might come out. "I feel like . . . we're forgetting someone. Someone very important."

"What do you mean?"

Kyouok turns and smiles weakly. "I'm sure you know what I mean." She places the picture on the shelf and stands up. "Now then, time to get some rum raisin!"

Yui sighs. _Just when she's getting serious . . ._ she thinks to herself. While the energetic blonde is searching for the ice cream, Yui decides to take a peek at the picture and try to figure out what Kyouko was talking about.

She examines it for about a minute until her eyes dart over at Akari. She gasps softly as she realizes what Kyouko meant. She sets the picture down with her head hanging and her long bangs hiding her expression.

"Um . . . is everyone okay?" Chinatsu asks, showing a face of concern.

Yui lifts her head up and smiles. "It's fine, Chintasu. I'm just looking at a picture of us when we were little."

"Oh! Let me see!" the pink haired girl says as she reaches out a hand.

Yui nods as she picks up the frame and goes over to show Chinatsu.

 ****At sunset****

Akari sighs happily as she twirls around while walking back to the park. "That was a lot of fun, wasn't it, Rise-chan?"

The raven-haired girl nods in agreement. She holds up a pendent that Akari gave her when they were looking around at a store one time during their hang out. The red-head wanted to buy the teal colored pendent just for Rise as a token of their friendship. When the red-head gave it to her, Rise was really happy. She would remember this moment for as long as she lives. For the rest of the day, the two just walked around town, browsed through some small shops, looked at some clothes and just chatted up a storm as they walked. For Rise, this has been the best han out ever, or so she said to Akari.

The raven-haired girl whispers a "Thank you for everything" and smiles happily.

"You're very welcome!" Akari says. "I'm so glad we got to hang out for the first time. It was a lot of fun."

Rise nods as she is about to turn to leave. A hand gently takes hers and feels lips lightly touch her cheek. Rise blushes and swiftly turns to the red-head while whispering in surprise.

"Hehe~!" Akari says. "It's a 'thank you' for hanging out with me." She sees Akane's car arriving. "Well, I'll see you later, Rise-chan!"

With a wave, Akarai skips off and enters front seat of the car and Akane drives away. Rise still has a blush on her face as she puts a hand on her cheek. It feels really warm. A small, cute smile comes across her face as she closes her eyes while clutching the pendent with her other hand.


End file.
